CEBS reported that [originaltext] Seven of the 91 European banks that underwe

Seven of the 91 European banks that underwent stress tests have failed the healthchecks, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors(CEBS)has said. The tests assessed banks’ ability to survive future economic shocks. The seven banks would need a total of 3. 5bn euros of new capital to meet the standards required, CEBS said. "The failed banks will have to agree with their respective supervisors a plan over a given time period which will explain how this weakness will be resolved, "CEBS chairman Giovanni Carosio said.
    Some analysts are already arguing that the tests were not strict enough. "What seems to have occurred is a compromise amongst European banking regulators, with many questioning if the bar had been set way too low in testing the European banking sector,"said Mark O’Sullivan of foreign exchange firm Currencies Direct. "It seems the tests may have raised more questions than they have answered and in the coming weeks, it will be the interbank lending markets that will have the real answer as to whether real confidence has returned to the European banks. "But Vitor Constancio from the European Central Bank said the tests were very extensive.